Talking of gay icons, have you heard of Greymatter yet? For those of you already in the know – brownie points for being ahead of the game. For those of you in the dark who think I’m talking of … well … grey matter, it’s time you were introduced to a band who is slowly working its way into the collective Sapphic psyche.
The snowball that is Greymatter is already trundling nicely along, but 2007 may well be the year of the Greymatter avalanche that will put them firmly at the forefront of the gay music scene.
Greymatter now comprises Georgey, Binky, Emma, Julie and Jules but it wasn’t always so. It began with a duo, Georgey and Emma, then Julie and Susan made it four, Binky made it five, but then Susan had to back out – just after the release of the album – because of other work commitments, which returned the band to a four-piece. Finally Jules came along, guitar and trumpet in hand and made it five again, and after all the musical machinations, this is now ‘the family’; one man too many for a girl band (that’ll be Binky), one man too many for a lesbian band (that’ll be Binky again), and one heterosexual man too many for a gay band (guess who?).
“Our gay fans love him though,” says Georgey, “We’ve never had any problems at all in terms of him being accepted, and he gets to be bossed around by 4 women, which I think he loves really – he’s an honorary lesbian,” she laughs. For Binky’s part, the fact that their fanbase is predominantly Sapphic women doesn’t faze him, “I don’t even think about it to be honest, I just get the most out of the music and as long as the audience are happy and enjoying it, that’s all that matters … and they seem to be enjoying it, it’s good.”
They are an eclectic bunch, their personal tastes in music diverse – from the Indigo Girls to Orange Juice, Deelite to Jools Holland – and although they have the look of a rock band, the music they produce is not what you might expect. The perfectly pitched harmonies of Georgey and Emma overlay strong instrumentals and now that Jules – and her trumpet – is on board a slightly different sound is promised for the future. “I didn’t expect to be asked to play it [the trumpet] to be honest,” says Jules, “but I was asked to bring it along to the first rehearsal because George had something in mind and it really worked.”
Georgey has been writing songs since she was very young, and when Emma’s mum introduced her to Emma some time ago – and they realised that their voices complimented each other’s – she began to write songs for two voices rather than one. And so began the duo, Georgey and Emma, or Emma and Georgey – either way, not a very catchy name. So, determined to come up with something, the pair of them broke out every CD they owned in a quest to find ‘the one’. Nestled into the playlist of “This Way” by Jewel is a track called Greymatter. “It’s not a favourite song or anything but the name appealed; the G and the M thing – for George and Em – the music that we produce, we just saw it and thought, yeah, that’s us,” says Georgey, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Each new member has brought something different to the band but the one thing that runs through every conversation with every band member is the feeling of ‘family’. “Every time someone joins it’s all been great, really positive,” says Julie, (bass guitarist) “I think it’s like having a family, we’re much better and closer than we were when we first started.” 
Jules agrees, “I think they found it difficult to fill a gap when Susan left and I feel honoured to have been asked to join but I get on with them all so well it feels like I’ve known them for years, I’m loving it.”
And so it seems are their growing fanbase who are spreading the news on their behalf. Word of mouth is definitely working and they are starting to be approached more for appearances now rather than having to find their own gigs. An L of a Night promises to be something special both for them and for the audience. It offers them a chance to showcase their talent to one of the biggest crowds they’ve played for and whilst there are a few nerves existing they are far outweighed by the definite excitement that emanates from them all.
When all’s said though, whilst gigs like an L of a Night offer them coverage and can only aid their momentum, you get the feeling that this is a band who are not in it purely for the glory – it is the music that motivates them – not the possibility of fame and fortune (although Julie would be happy with a Christmas number 1!). Whilst they would all love to perform to a stadium audience one day, they are just as happy with more intimate sets, doing what they do now. “Even if nothing big happens,” says Georgey, “we’ll be doing the same thing because we just love it.” And you believe her... but then something big might just happen.
Buy their album, listen to sample tracks, find out more at the Greymatter website. Click here
